Special Projects of the Health Group

The Health Group received funding from United Philanthropy Forum for a 2023 regional Rural Re-entry Workforce Convening.  A cohort of members from the Health Group will convene with re-entry practitioners and local governments to lift up proven practices and identify key levers for successful re-entry from incarceration and other traumas. The cohort will define the key learning and action questions that will guide a research scan and the convening’s outcomes and agenda.

Programs that ensure people in recovery have the right training, the right supports, and employers who support their recovery efforts are critical to success.

Building “recovery ready” communities and ecosystems that emerged as a promising strategy and point to potential roles for many funders. There are already promising practices emerging within the Central Appalachian region based on models that identify elements of strong recovery ecosystems.  Examples of key features for success include treatment services, recovery residences, harm reduction organizations, employment opportunities, long term transportation and housing solutions, community service, and prevention organizations. Based on their own local work, the AFN Health Group’s members deeply understand that persistent inequities exist to accessing such re-entry service due to race, place and class in the Central Appalachian region that is historically disadvantaged.